What kind of a mom am I going to be if I don’t get to go to the doctor and take care of myself?
By Amanda H., Lakeline, OH
I’ve experienced health care both with Obamacare and without it, and I can easily say it’s much, much better with it.
It was exhausting spending so much time on the phone with insurance companies, figuring out exactly what’s covered only to then have them deny it even after you literally read their own certificate book back to them. With Obamacare, my medical debt is $0. I pay a little bit more for insurance every month but my insurance is so much better, in terms of what it covers.
I don’t have to worry as much about being charged more just for being a woman, my plan covers all of my doctor’s appointments. I’m able to see a therapist twice a month, and I saw a psychiatrist once a month for medication. It was all covered. I pay my deductible and I’m not left with thousands and thousands of dollars in medical bills just because I’m going to the doctor. To be able to have coverage that is comprehensive and to be able to go to the doctor on a regular basis makes me feel really good — I feel better.
I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Normally, I probably would’ve avoided going to the doctor despite the symptoms just so I wouldn’t have to pay for it. To be able to take care of that right away has helped me so much.
My husband has his own small business. I’m currently pregnant and not working. I plan on not working after my delivery so I can take care of our child. The only way then for us to have insurance is to buy it ourselves. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have the marketplace to buy insurance from.

If I had to go into some separate risk pool type thing, it would just end up being too expensive. And I just wonder: What kind of a mom am I going to be if I don’t get to go to the doctor and take care of myself? I don’t have any other options.
Obamacare has made getting good coverage a lot easier. We don’t make a ton of money, so it’s a relief to be able to go to the doctor and know that the essential stuff is going to be covered. It’s so much easier to just know that and not have to second guess everything, not have to fight for stuff, and not have to send letters for things and resubmit claims just for insurance companies to say “no.”
My mother passed away last August. She had Type I diabetes. My whole life, I watched her get denied for coverage over and over because of her pre-existing condition — and her health suffered for that. It doesn’t have to be like that. She was in a nursing home the last few years of her life, and if Medicaid didn’t pay for that, then I don’t know what I would’ve done. I’ve seen and lived with and without Obamacare so I’ve seen first-hand the difference it has made.
People need this. Our communities need this. It benefits so many American families, including my own. I don’t understand how this is even a question for the current administration. That we can spend trillions of dollars on wars or tax breaks for the rich and not take care of the actual people who need help the most is insane to me.
Originally published at www.ofa.us.

